List of convenience shops in the United Kingdom

This is a list of convenience shops in the United Kingdom.

History

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In mid-September 2015 Booker Group announced it would acquire Musgrave Retail Partners GB, owner of the Londis and Budgens brands for £40m, adding Londis's 1,630 convenience shops and 167 Budgens franchise outlets to its estate.[1]

In December 2016, McColl's announced it would acquire 298 former Co-op shops[2]

In August 2017, Sainsbury's announced it had entered exclusive talks to acquire Nisa,[3] however talks were abandoned in August due to concerns over monopoly and competition inquiries.[4] It was then announced that the Co-operative Group has entered talks to acquire Nisa. In November, the Co-op announced that the Nisa board had recommended members accept the Co-op's £140m offer for the company.[5][6] In 2022, McColl's was placed in voluntary administration and purchased by Morrisons.[7]

Current

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The list of current convenience stores has been split into those run by major retailers, and those that are symbol groups.

Major retailers

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Shop name Image Founded/
Came to UK
Owned by Notes
Aldi Local Aldi Smaller city centre c-store format, sized around 6,500 sq. ft.[8]
Amazon Fresh 2021 Amazon Chain of cashierless c-stores. Amazon also partner with several UK retailers including Morrisons, Booths and Co-op to sell groceries online through the Amazon UK website.[9][10]
Asda Express Asda Chain of smaller c-store shops within the wider Asda business started in 2022, with plans for 300 by 2026.[11] Asda also operate a petrol forecourt c-store estate and work with partners through the 'Asda On The Move' brand.[12]
Circle K Alimentation Couche-Tard Leading forecourt and convenience retailer on the island of Ireland, with 49 sites in Northern Ireland.[13]
Co-op Food   1844 Various consumers' co-operatives Co-op Food is a brand used by a federation of approx. 15 UK consumers' co-operatives, together forming a supermarket brand which sources products from the Co-operative Retail Trading Group, and has the largest number of shops for a UK convenience shop multiple. The Co-operative Group is the largest member with around 2,400 owned and franchised stores (including larger supermarkets).[14]
Heron Foods B&M Group Chain of approx. 300 convenience shops.
Iceland Local 2023 Iceland New convenience format launched in 2023.[15]
Lidl Lidl Smaller store format for predominantly urban locations.[16]
Little Waitrose   2008 Waitrose Small convenience shops selling Waitrose goods; aim to have 300 shops by 2018
Marks & Spencer Simply Food 2005 Marks & Spencer and BP franchise agreement 120 convenience shops based within BP Connect roadside fuel stations
Morrisons Daily 2019 Morrisons Convenience shop chain with approx. 480 company-owned and franchise stores[17]
One Stop   Tesco Approx. 1,000 owned and franchised stores.[18][19]
Poundland Local Poundland Chain of convenience shops
Sainsbury's Local   1998 Sainsbury's Chain of approx. 800 convenience shops run by Sainsburys[20]
Tesco Express   Tesco Second smallest shops in Tesco family; approx. 2,000 shops nationwide[21]

Symbol groups and chains

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Shop name Image Founded/
Came to UK
Owned by Notes
Bargain Booze Select Convenience   1981 Bestway Wholesale Chain of franchised convenience shops operated by Britain's biggest off licence chain. Bargain Booze Purchased Central Stores in December 2017.
Best-one   1990 Bestway Wholesale A Symbol group with over 2,000[22] convenience shops located in England & Jersey, CI
Blakemore Retail 1917 Privately owned UK's largest family owned operator of convenience shops; operate as a member of Spar UK. Took on a number of My Local shops after the collapse of the chain.
Budgens 1872 Tesco (Booker Group) Symbol group in England and Wales founded in 1872.
Central Convenience Stores Bestway Wholesale Central is a franchise based convenience shop chain based in the Dorset area.[23]
Costcutter   1986 Bestway Wholesale Symbol group and convenience shops supplied by Nisa; operates under the Costcutter, mycostcutter, Mace, Supershop and kwiksave brands
Day-Today 2003 United Wholesale (Scotland) Symbol group founded in 2003, there are now over 300 Day-Today convenience stores in Scotland.
Family Choice Tesco (Booker Group) Symbol Group
Family Shopper 2014 Tesco (Booker Group) Discount symbol group set up by Booker to run alongside Premier and offer more discounted lines[24]
Go Local Extra A G Parfetts Cash & Carry Symbol group for independent shops owned by A G Parfetts
Greens Retail Greens Scotland's leading chain of Convenience Stores (formerly Eros Retail). Operating 16+ stores throughout Scotland as of March 2023, with substantial growth aspirations and plans to achieve a £100m annualised sales target from 50+ stores..[25] [26]
GT Retail James Retail Group Chain of convenience shops located in the Midlands and North of England[27]
HKS Retail Ltd 1984[28] Operator Petrol stations and convenience shops across the Midlands
Jones Convenience Stores   1911 Privately owned Chain of 16 convenience shops located in Somerset
KeyStore 1995 J.W Filshill A leading Scottish convenience symbol group.
Lifestyle Express Unitas Wholesale Symbol group of independent shops, roughly 2000 in number operating
Londis   1959 Tesco (Booker Group) Symbol group and convenience shops
Mace Bestway Wholesale (United Kingdom) and Musgrave (Northern Ireland)[29] Symbol group
Nisa   1977 The Co-operative Group Symbol group; formerly Nisa-Today, which supplies around 5,000 stores[30]
Park & Shop 1975 Park Garage Group[31] Own-brand
Premier   1994 Tesco (Booker Group) Symbol group with over 2400 shops that are independently owned
Proudfoot Supermarkets 1946 Privately owned Chain of supermarkets/convenience stores in the Borough of Scarborough
Select & Save Privately owned Chain of 100 symbol group convenience shops supplied by Nisa[32]
Shop'N Drive 2012 Rontec Chain of convenience shops located at roadside fuel stations
Simply Fresh Bestway Wholesale Symbol group of 25 convenience shops, affiliated to Costcutter
Spar   1957 Owned by independent retailers, with five strategic wholesalers:
  • James Hall & Co
  • Henderson Wholesale Ltd
  • CJ Lang & Son Ltd
  • Appleby Westward Group Ltd
  • AF Blakemore.
Symbol group
Today's Extra 1985 Unitas Wholesale Retailers' cooperative & symbol group of around 400 convenience shops; formerly part of Nisa-Today
USave 2003 United Wholesale (Scotland) Symbol group founded in 2003, there are now over 200 USave convenience shops in Scotland.
Welcome Southern Co-op Franchised convenience chain with approx. 69 stores focused on southern England.[33]
Whistlestop Select Service Partner Convenience chain primarily focused on rail, coach and airport locations. Select Service Partner also operate Marks & Spencer Simply Food sites at major railway and motorway service stations.

Defunct

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Shop
name
Image Founded
/ Came to UK
Purchased by Notes
Aberness Bought by Somerfield in 2004[34] Scottish convenience chain
Alldays   1991 Bought by the Co-operative Group[35] Convenience shop group set up in 1991 by Watson & Philip which went into receivership in 2002
All 'Ours Merged with Premier Stores Symbol group within the Moffat company
Bells Stores Bought by Sainsbury's in 2004, branded as Sainsbury's at Bells before being converted to Sainsbury's Local[36] Small chain of 54 convenience shops in the North East England
Botterils Convenience Shops c.1950s Bought by Scotmid in 2010.[37] Small chain of 51 convenience shops in Scotland
Central Shops 2013 Conviviality Retail in 2017
Circle K Bought by Watson & Philip in 1993 for £21m and re-branded Alldays[38] American-owned convenience shops
Cullens 2004 Bought by Tesco from Adminstore Presence in central London, operating since 1876; part of Adminstore group which also owned Europa and Harts
David Sands 1812 Bought by Co-operative Group in 2012[39] Chain of 28 convenience shops located in Scotland
Dawn Til Dusk 1986 Went into receivership in 1999 was an English chain of 90 convenience shops located throughout the North of England
Dillons Symbol group. Rebranded as One Stop in early 2000’s
Europa 2004 Bought by Tesco from Adminstore Presence in central London; part of Adminstore group which also owned Cullens and Harts
Happy Shopper   Booker Group Formerly a Symbol group but now a sub brand sold in Premier Stores after the purchase of parent company Nurdin and Peacock
Harts 2004 Bought by Tesco from Adminstore Presence in central London; part of Adminstore group which also owned Cullens and Europa
Healds Day & Nite Bought by Tesco owned One Stip in 2000[40] Chain of 98 convenience shops
Jacksons Stores   1991 Bought by Sainsbury's in 2004, branded as Sainsbury's at Jacksons Stores before being converted to Sainsbury's Local[41] Regional in Yorkshire and North Midlands
Local Plus 2001 Bought by the Co-operative Group[42] Chain of 64 convenience shops created by a management buyout of South West Alldays shops
McColl's   Morrisons Bought in 2022 and converted to the Morrisons Daily format by September 2024.[43]
Loco 2012 The Co-operative Group (Nisa Group) Symbol group run by Nisa, which had 50 shops nationwide by 2013[44] Fascia retired and replaced with Nisa Express format.[45]
Misselbrook & Weston (M&W) Original operator of One Stop, later bought out by T&S Stores operator of Dillons
Melias Bought by Dee Corporation Chain of convenience shops owned by Fine Fare; rebranded or sold after Gateway purchase
Morning, Noon & Night 1991 Bought by Scotmid in 2004[46]
My Local   2011 Went into administration in late June 2016, all shops closed by early July 2016. Chain of convenience shops created by Morrisons initially under M Local name; sold as part of re-organisation and was renamed My Local in September 2015.
RS McColl's Scottish McColl's stores, bought by Morrisons in 2022 and converted by September 2024.
7-Eleven Taken over by Budgens[47] Convenience shop chain[48]
Sperrings 1985[49] Became Alldays A chain of convenience stores founded by Bob Sperring[50]
Swift Iceland Foods Chain of convenience shops. Stores closed in 2023. [51]
Ugo 2011 Owned by Haldanes Group Chain of 22 convenience shops created by Haldanes after purchasing shops from Netto; went into administration in 2012
VG Shops rebranded either Spar or Alldays
Wavy Line Small chain of small supermarkets and convenience shops located in the South and South East of England

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Tugby, Luke (14 September 2015). "Booker Group completes £40m acquisition of Londis and Budgens". Retail Week.
  2. ^ Piasecka, Dominika (22 February 2016). "McColl's given go-ahead to purchase 300 Co-op stores". www.thenews.coop. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  3. ^ Butler, Sarah; Wood, Zoe (14 August 2017). "Sainsbury's Nisa takeover talks paused after competition concerns" – via www.theguardian.com.
  4. ^ Pratley, Nils (14 August 2017). "Sainsbury's is right to delay Nisa deal after Tesco-Booker concerns - Nils Pratley" – via www.theguardian.com.
  5. ^ Bounds, Andy (10 October 2017). "Nisa board recommends Co-op £143m takeover offer". Financial Times.
  6. ^ Jahshan, Elias (10 October 2017). "Co-op makes £143m takeover bid for Nisa".
  7. ^ Partridge, Joanna; Jolly, Jasper (9 May 2022). "Morrisons wins race to buy McColl's ahead of Asda owners". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Aldi launches new "Local" concept store in South London - Retail Gazette". www.retailgazette.co.uk. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  9. ^ Duffy, Kate. "I went to the first Amazon Fresh store in the UK and felt like a shoplifter. Take a look inside". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  10. ^ Stevens, Ben (16 September 2021). "Amazon continues UK grocery blitz with Co-op partnership". Latest Retail Technology News From Across The Globe - Charged. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  11. ^ Parr, Jacqui (19 December 2022). "Interview: Asda's vp of convenience on why Express stores are its "number one priority"". www.retailgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Asda plans 300 new UK convenience stores, creating 10,000 jobs". The Guardian. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Circle K won't forget its forecourt roots: Derek Nolan".
  14. ^ "Co-op warns profits under pressure due to supply chain challenges".
  15. ^ https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2023/04/iceland-local/
  16. ^ Farrell, Steve (6 August 2020). "Lidl targeting 'supermarket convenience' with new-format London stores". The Grocer. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  17. ^ https://www.talkingretail.com/news/special-reports/big-story-morrisons-daily-opportunity-or-threat-07-11-2022/
  18. ^ "One Stop loses 75 shops amid Tesco Express conversion plans". 15 April 2020.
  19. ^ https://www.expressandstar.com/news/business/2023/02/16/one-stop-giving-away-bread-to-customers-and-cash-to-good-causes-at-opening-of-1000th-store-in-wolverhampton/
  20. ^ "UK: Sainsbury's stores, by type 2009-2018".
  21. ^ "Tesco to open 65 new Express stores across Britain this year". Daily Mirror. 15 April 2022.
  22. ^ "About Best-one Convenience Stores January 2022". Best-one. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Central Convenience Stores". Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  24. ^ "Discount Debut Family Shopper stores - Scottish Grocer p. January 2014". 10 January 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  25. ^ "Eros Retail expanding to hit £100m annualised sales target". www.conveniencestore.co.uk. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  26. ^ "Greens Retail opens stores across Scotland". Daily Business. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  27. ^ "Welcome to GT Retail". Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  28. ^ "HKS Retail Limited - About Us". Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  29. ^ http://www.maceni.co.uk/news/musgrave-invests-in-northern-ireland
  30. ^ "Nisa closes in on 5,000 stores in year of double-digit growth and strong returns". 30 September 2021.
  31. ^ Iain (26 May 2022). "Park Garage Group". Retail Merchandiser. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  32. ^ "Nisa and Select & Save extend contract for a further five years - The grocer p. 15 October 2011". Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  33. ^ "Southern Co-op points to cost pressures as it posts operating loss of £1.3m". Co-op News. 16 May 2023.
  34. ^ "Somerfield acquires Aberness - IGD Retail Analysis p. 19 March 2004". Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  35. ^ "Co-op steps in as Alldays calls for receivers - Daily Telegraph p. 29 October 2002". Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  36. ^ "J Sainsbury plc Bells Stores acquisition announcement". Archived from J Sainsbury plc Bells Stores acquisition announcement the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2015. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  37. ^ "Scotmid acquire the Botterills family chain". The Grocer. 12 November 2010.
  38. ^ "Alldays comes in for Circle K - The Herald p.27 August 1994". Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  39. ^ "David Sands shops sold to Co-op". BBC News. BBC.co.uk. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  40. ^ "Acquisition of Day & Nite Shops Limited". Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  41. ^ "Sainsbury's snaps up Jacksons convenience store chain - The Independent p.17 August 2004". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015.
  42. ^ "Co-operative Group buys Conveco". thegrocer.co.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  43. ^ "132 McColl's shops to close, putting 1,300 jobs at risk". The Guardian. 1 November 2022. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023.
  44. ^ "About Us - Nisa Loco". Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  45. ^ https://www.betterretailing.com/symbol-group-news/nisa-news/nisa-express-secret-plans-for-small-shop-fascia-revealed/
  46. ^ "Dundee firm sold for £30 million". Evening Telegraph. 3 August 2004. Archived from the original on 15 August 2004.
  47. ^ "New name for 7-11 stores - The Independent p.1 April 1998". Independent.co.uk. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  48. ^ "7-Eleven set to enter UK convenience market - Convenience Shop p.25 March 2014". Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  49. ^ "DueDil".
  50. ^ "The store of the future... Today". 2 November 2010.
  51. ^ https://www.talkingretail.com/news/industry-news/iceland-closes-the-door-on-swift-convenience-format-14-07-2023/